The Dark of Night
by JediMaster-Jen
Summary: Ben and Jysella fall in love in the dark of night.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Dark of Night

**Summary**] Ben and Jysella find love in the dark of night.

**Disclaimer:** Star Wars belongs to George Lucas, not me.

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**Chapter One**

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**Ossus**

**Jedi Temple**

**50.5 ABY**

"The dark of night is really no time to be wandering around all alone, you know," a deep voice cut through the quietness.

Jysella Horn, her brown cloak wrapped tightly around her tall, slender form turned slowly to look at the man that had interrupted her walk.

Twenty-four year-old Ben Skywalker moved slowly towards her, his black cloak swaying gently in his wake. His entire form was clad in black, the touch of red in his dark blonde hair and his icy blue eyes the only things giving any measure of color to his physical presence. In short, he looked rather menacing for a Jedi.

"I could say the same to you," she quipped.

Ben smiled then as he came to a stop directly in front of the older woman. She was considerably shorter than Ben, so she had to tip her head back to look into his eyes.

"The dark of night is the only time I find peace around here," he told her quietly. "With the rising suns comes another day of insults and scathing looks."

Jysella's heart broke at the sadness she heard in his voice.

He had paid the price for his actions as the apprentice of his cousin, Jacen Solo. They, along with their dark side teacher Lumiya, had been captured eight years before. Jacen and Lumiya engaged their captors in a fight that ended in their deaths and eighteen year-old Ben had been remanded to the custody of the Jedi and they'd imprisoned him for five years. He'd paid the price and still people didn't trust him.

"I'm sorry," Jysella finally said; her voice soft.

Ben inhaled deeply then as she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his broad chest. He wrapped one arm around her waist and held her to him while his other hand came up and he ran his fingers through her long brown tresses. His head came to rest against the top of hers.

For several long moments, the two friends just stood there, each protected in the others embrace.

"I wish I could take away your pain," she whispered as her hands absently began to rub his back, working out knots in his tense muscles.

"You do," he replied. "You're my only friend, Sella. Nothing seems quite as bad when you're with me."

She smiled against his chest. "I'm not your only friend. Your siblings are your friends; Allana, Tenel Ka, Tahiri, Kyp, my brother."

"You didn't mention even one person that isn't family or very close to it," he pointed out sadly.

Jysella pulled back then but didn't leave the circle of his arms. "Family makes the best kind of friends, Ben. They'll always be there, no matter what."

He nodded. "I suppose that's true enough. My family has been there for me the past eight years, especially my parents."

"They love you," she said easily. "They never once considered that you couldn't be reached. They would have kept trying until the end of time."

Ben smiled, his mood having lightened somewhat. "Well, family aside, _you're_ my _best_ friend."

Her smile lit up her entire face and Ben noticed, not for the first time, just how beautiful Jysella Horn had become. Her long brown hair fell down in waves around her slender shoulders. Her green eyes pierced him with their intensity as they stared out of an amazingly beautiful face with high cheek bones.

Carefully, Ben brought his hand from her hair to softly stroke her cheek. "You're beautiful."

Jysella blushed. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

Ben chuckled with her, but then grew serious. "No, no I don't. You truly are a beautiful woman."

Jysella was unprepared for what he did next.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The suns were just beginning to peak over the horizon when Jysella awakened. She immediately felt the weight of Ben's muscled arm across her bare abdomen. She closed her eyes as she recalled images from the previous night.

/

_Before she knew what was happening, Ben's head had dipped and his lips were gently caressing hers. His strong arms pulled her to him as he deepened the kiss. _

_Caught in the whirlwind of emotions flowing from both of them, Jysella did the only thing she could do. She wrapped her arms around Ben and returned his kiss with equal passion and fire. _

_Their hands roamed as their mouths fused together wildly._

/

_The walk to Ben's quarters was short, but made difficult as the couple tried in vain to keep their lips connected on the way. _

_They collapsed as one onto Ben's large bed. The heated, passionate kisses from the hall gave way to tender ones. Clothing disappeared slowly as the two lovers came together in a fiery display of love_.

/

"Good morning," Ben said sleepily.

Jysella was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of his voice. She turned her head and stared into his expressive eyes.

"Good morning," she repeated softly.

Ben smiled and tightened his hold on her. "Did you sleep well?"

Jysella laughed softly. "When I slept; yes."

Ben laughed heartily at that before placing a gentle kiss against Jysella's lips. "I apologize for keeping you awake."

"You're forgiven," she intoned lightly.

Ben nodded as he climbed from the bed and pulled on his pants from the night before. Still bare-chested, he turned back to Jysella. "Thank you."

Sitting up and covering herself with the sheet, she smiled at him. "For what?"

Ben shrugged as he picked his shirt up from the floor and put it on, covering his scar-laden back and chest. "For…being my friend; for being more than my friend. I don't feel close to anyone anymore, but last night…I…I haven't felt as connected to anyone like that in a long time."

Jysella chose her words carefully. "Making love will do that to a person."

Ben shook his head. "No. I mean, yes it can, but that isn't what I meant. Making love with you _was_ amazing, but just…just being close to you gave me more than anything. Holding your hand in mine, feeling you rub my back, letting me caress your hair or your cheek; those things make me feel more connected to you than anything else. You make me feel like you trust me."

Tears gathered in her green eyes. "Ben, I _do_ trust you. I always have and I always will. Even when you were doing terrible things, I still trusted you. I knew you wouldn't hurt me, despite what Jacen and Lumiya were telling you to do."

He sat down next to her on the edge of the bed and kissed her gently. "You're the only one who does."

They shared one more kiss before Ben rose again and finished getting dressed. He was attaching his lightsaber to his belt when Jysella finally asked the one question she'd had floating in the back of her mind since their first kiss the night before.

"Where do we go from here?"

Ben sat in a chair across from her as he contemplated the question. "I don't know. I…this was unexpected. I only meant to kiss you last night, not…not this. I'm not very…experienced at this."

"You mean…intimacy?" she asked teasingly.

Ben blushed, embarrassed. "No, I've got that part covered. I meant relationships in general. I'm twenty-four and I've spent the majority of the past eight years confined to a prison cell and with mind-healers and the like. I'm not exactly sure what's supposed to happen beyond what we've already shared."

With that, an honest answer, Jysella stood with the sheet covering her body and moved to sit in Ben's lap. "For starters, you can take me to breakfast. After that, we'll just see where the wind takes us."

They shared a smile before Ben answered. "I think I can manage that."

Jysella smiled back and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Good."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"This is…your…idea of…a…good time?" Jysella asked between breaths.

Ben laughed as they stared down at the capitol city of Knossa from atop the Eocho Mountain range.

"Yeah, this is my idea of a good time," he said after a few moments. "Up here, I feel calm and at peace. Maybe because it's nighttime; I don't know."

Jysella moved to stand next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Together they looked out over Knossa Spaceport and the Jedi Temple.

"It's beautiful," she remarked quietly.

Ben nodded. "Yes, it is. The first night after I was released, I came up here and spent the night. I set up a tent and everything. I just…I stayed awake for hours, just looking at the stars and looking down at the Temple. I didn't feel like I belonged either place though, you know. I didn't feel like a Jedi anymore, and I certainly didn't feel like I belonged out there walking the sky. But despite that, I felt calm up here, like not knowing where I belonged didn't matter all that much."

Jysella looked up at him and smiled softly. "And now?"

Their eyes met when he tipped his head to look at her. "Now I know where I belong."

"Where?"

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips before smiling brightly. "With you. I belong with you, Sella, always."

"And I belong with you," she whispered back just before their lips met.

Hours later, the two lovers were curled together in a sleeping bag beneath the stars; the dark of night providing them the peace and quiet Ben craved.

/

**Two Years Later**

**The Rebuilt Jedi Temple**

**Coruscant**

/**  
**

The crying of a baby awakened Ben. Carefully he slipped from the bed he shared with his wife and made his way out of the room and down the hall.

"What's wrong, little guy?" Ben asked softly as he reached down and lifted his newborn son into his strong arms.

The baby ceased crying the moment he came into contact with his father's bare chest.

Ben chuckled as he wrapped a blanket tightly around the small child and stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the city-planet. "I guess you just wanted to cuddle with Daddy."

Ben inhaled deeply as his eyes took in the activity that never seemed to stop on Coruscant. The space lanes were already heavy with traffic. Beings of all sorts walked on the duracrete walkways far beneath the Skywalker quarters in the Temple.

Ben turned the infant around so the boy could peer out at the city as well. "This is your home, my son. It's loud, and busy, and full of greedy politicians, but it's home. You'll learn to be a Jedi here, if that's what you want. You'll be powerful someday, I can feel it."

The baby gurgled and leaned his tiny head back to rest against Ben's shoulder; seeming to listen to his father's every word.

Ben kissed his son on the cheek and then gazed up at the stars that were barely visible. "Learn to enjoy this time, little one. The dark of night is when magic happens. Everything is possible right now."

He looked back down and noticed the baby boy had once again been claimed by sleep. Ben began to sway slightly, making sure the boy was sound asleep before he turned and walked back inside.

"Sleep tight, my boy, my little Anakin," he whispered. "I love you."


End file.
